Talking about Mods anyone want to give me some ideas of what to do to my new silver 2007 328i, tinited the windows 20% all around and the backlights so far not much but changed the look a bit.

This is SO not the place for this type of post.

Anyway, I just want to thank everyone for their input in this thread. It's a good read and really lays all the info out for you.

Bottom line: If you can think of any reason that the dealer might be able to link an aftermarket part on your car to a failure of any type, chances are they can think of it too.

Safest bet is not to mod. For those that choose to add mods after knowing the stipulations of a warranty, at least take steps to give yourself the best chance of any issues you may have being covered by warranty, meaning remove your aftermarket parts before bringing to the dealership. Better safe than sorry!

Talking about Mods anyone want to give me some ideas of what to do to my new silver 2007 328i, tinited the windows 20% all around and the backlights so far not much but changed the look a bit.

Go do research, search for mod threads. Don't hijack threads.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by captainaudio

I think we need to know what that bottle of red wine was...
If it was Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 the OP should probably be on the market for a Bugatti Veyron.
If it was Red Ripple 2010 the OP should sell all of his cars and start using public transportation.

Interesting thread. I agree with others, there is way to be guaranteed your modifications will be covered 100% by the dealer (or manufacturer). My experience in the auto industry has led me to believe this more because the dealers of higher end cars (i.e. BMWs) want to offer said upgraded parts themselves along with the manufactures who make approved products for various manufacturers (not just BMW).

Obviously the automobile manufacturer wants to keep people from tearing up their cars and then claiming a warranty repair, but they also stand to make a few bucks by pushing their own performance parts. I'm sure if you had engine failure and there was a K&N intake on there could deny it where as the same engine with a BMW Performance intake would be repaired (regardless of who did the installation).

Ultimately it comes down the dealer. In my experience most repairs were left up to the Service Manager to decide if they were worth fixing under warranty. Often we repaired things that weren't covered because we wanted the repeat business. So if we had someone that trashed their vehicle but brought it to us for all of their paying service (oil changes, tires, brakes, etc...) we would fix it and look the other way and claim it as a warranty repair.

Let me try to explain mods and warranties in logical layman's term. I'm sure that some will come up with all sorts of nebulous arguments but they are not real world.

1. The oft misquoted MM act has nothing to do with performance parts. It was enacted to keep manufacturers from requiring the use of a specific brand of replacement part in order to keep the warranty intact.

Accordingly, the use of a "substantially similar" replacement is OK and the manufacturer must show that the "substantially similar" part caused the failure if they refuse warranty service for that failure.

In practical terms, this means that you can substitute a Osram H7 bulb for the Bosch H7 that the car originally came with.

2. Let's look at performance parts for a moment. By definition, performance parts are not "substantially similar" as they are intended to alter the performance characteristics of a system. Based upon this, performance parts fall outside the scope of the MM act.

In order to refuse warranty service for a failure, the manufacturer (legally) merely needs to show that a part that is not "substantially similar" was used and that this part could have caused the failure. At this point, the burden of proof shifts to the consumer to prove that the part did not cause the failure.

Going back to out lightbulb example, if you have an electrical failure and you've replaced your 55w bulbs with 85w "hyperwhites" or LED's then the dealer is under an obligation to the manufacturer to refuse warranty service on the failure if they believe that the performance bulbs caused the failure.

Simple - right?

Now, let's talk warranty a moment.

3. The term "void the warranty" is often bandied about by both consumers and dealers alike.

Very few things will actually "void the warranty." This was alluded to by other posters but not fully explained. If a car is so badly abused, or modded to the point where virtually every system failure can be traced back to a mod, then the manufacturer can "void the warranty." A flood damaged car or one that was in a severe accident might also be candidates for the manufacturer to void the warranty on the entire car.

Mitsubishi voided the warranty on a bunch of cars that they saw were used at racetracks.

What is commonly referred to as "voiding the warranty" actually refers to a dealer refusing warranty service on a particular service.

Quite simply, if a dealer believes that a modification, chip, performance part, abuse or whatnot caused (or substantially contributed) to a failure, then he has an obligation to the manufacturer to refuse warranty service on that failure.

Accordingly, using our lighting example again, the dealer could refuse warranty service on any electrical failure. This could actually extend to ECUs or the entire electrical system.

Farfetched? Not really. A few years back a guy on VWVortex decided to paint his sidemarker bulbs silver on his brand new Jetta.

The bulb heated up, melted the paint and dripped into the housing. The housing melted and shorted out parts of the wiring loom. Since the Jetta uses a CAN-BUS, the whole thing needed replacement $2500 later the car was on the road again.

4. Why doesn't the dealer give the customer the benefit of the doubt? The manufacturer often asks for parts back to determine the cause of the failure. They are extremely vigilant for failures that often are seen on modded cars.

Fell free to argue until you're blue in the face - but - like it or not, the above is the way it is.

You can always find a lawyer who will argue a different viewpoint, but that doesn't mean it is right.

So, what is the bottom line?

ANY mod may cause warranty woes. Consider ALL the implications of any mod you are contemplating and be mentally and monetarily prepared to pay for the consequences.

Read your owner's manual carefully. It specifically warns against engine (ECU) and suspension mods as examples of mods that will cause problems.

Feel free to mod away, but remember that you might have to pay to play. The other posters who say "just do it" aren't the ones that will have to foot the bill.

As a clarification - there is some heated discussion about the manufacturer's burden of proof regarding the use of "performance parts" but the bottom line remains the same.

In addition, if the manufacturer allows a case to go to court then there is a good bet that he has sufficient evidence to back up their claim.

Thank you for your e-mail. If I mod my car it will be with BMW Performance parts at an authorized BMW dealership. Question: What is your opinion on the extended BMW warranty? I just bought a used 2009 335i coupe with 14K miles. Thanks.

I am new here but here are my 5 cents....
I checked with my SA and he said that basically if you do any like intake stuff it would not void the warranty...anything else that messes up with the engine ( ECU stuff #1 !!) will get you out....

I am new here but here are my 5 cents....
I checked with my SA and he said that basically if you do any like intake stuff it would not void the warranty...anything else that messes up with the engine ( ECU stuff #1 !!) will get you out....

I have the JB4 and DCI.. and warranty all the way up to 100K

Sorry but that is not BMW policy. Good luck if you break down away from home or go to a different dealer- or if you get a new SA.

This is not to spark a tune debate so please lets not go there. This is just to state my experience of 2 weeks ago. My factory warrantry was set to expire on October 17(monday)along with the Dinan warranty which expires when the factory does). On October 12 the car stops accelerating very well. Took it in and found out the friday before it expires that the turbo needed to be replaced. I contacted Dinan and they worked directly with the dealership, i did not have to do a thing. Sent 2 new turbos to them and paid to have them put in my car. Only needed one but they replaced both and paid for the labor($1657 just for labor) and this was the day after the warrranty expired. Didnt try to get out of it or say it was after the warranty ran out.
That is one of several experiences i have had with Dinan and all went just as easily. Not saying it is the strongest or the best tune, that is not the point of this post. It was what I picked based on several factors and warranty was a major one.

An issue here is also that for most of us, if you wanted to laywer up and really press a "this act from 19XX should protect my rights to mods" with on a warranty claim, the cost and time to do that would be prohibitive.